Five people have died this Friday in an avalanche triggered in the attempted massive entry from Morocco to Spain through the Melilla border, in North Africa, and at least 130 emigrants managed to gain access.
According to Efe, which cites local sources in the Moroccan province of Nador, 76 were also injured among the migrants, and 13 are in serious condition.
In addition, 140 Moroccan police officers were injured, five of them seriously. The agency indicates that the deceased lost their lives in “a moment of stampede” or due to “the injuries suffered when they fell to the ground when they climbed the fence.”
The migrants, mostly young sub-Saharan men, broke down this morning the access gate of the Chinatown border checkpoint, which separates Melilla from Morocco, and entered the Spanish city by jumping through the roof of the checkpoint.
The Delegation of the Government of Melilla reported that in total there were almost 2,000 people who tried to jump the fence, despite “the extensive device deployed by the Moroccan security forces, in coordination with the Spanish State Security Forces.”
“Extraordinary work”
This is the first attempt at a massive entry that has taken place since relations between Spain and Morocco were restored last March, when the Spanish government supported Rabat’s proposal to convert Western Sahara into a province under Moroccan sovereignty.
Previously, both countries had suffered an intense diplomatic crisis after Madrid welcomed the leader of the Polisario Front, Brahim Ghali, to be treated in April 2021 for the coronavirus.
The Spanish president, Pedro Sánchez, declared this Friday that the Moroccan gendarmerie “has worked hard” to try to avoid “this violent assault.”
Sánchez said that “it is important to recognize the extraordinary work that the State security forces and bodies are doing in Melilla and the work that the Moroccan Government has done in this case (…) to stop a violent assault that calls into question our territorial integrity. ».
On the other hand, the spokeswoman for the Interior of the Popular Party (PP), Ana Vázquez, requested “an urgent appearance” by the Minister of the Interior, Fernando Grande-Marlaska.
“The abandonment of the Government and the abandonment of the State Security Forces and Bodies (Fcse) that defend our borders is inadmissible. What was the use of changing the position on the Sahara? », He wrote on Twitter.
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